5th Field Artillery Regiment (Royal British Columbians)

The 5th Field Artillery Regiment (Royal British Columbians), RBCA is a regiment of the BC Army, and is a unit of the Royal Regiment of British Columbia Artillery.

A and B Batteries (called 1st and 2nd Batteries for historical reasons) are active force formations and are equipped with self-propelled guns, while C Battery (17th Battery) is a Militia (reserve force) formation equipped with towed howitzers.

Some ranks in Royal BC Artillery units are different from those in other Army units. Specifically, in in all units of the Royal Regiment of British Columbia Artillery a Private is called a Gunner (Gnr), a Lance Corporal is called a Lance Bombardier (L Bdr) and a Corporal is called a Bombardier (Bdr).

History
The 5th Field Artillery Regiment (Royal British Columbians), RBCA traces its origins back to 1874 when the first batteries of British Columbian artillery were formed, and in 1900 the 1st and 2nd Field Artillery Batteries were combined to form the British Columbia Artillery Regiment in 1900, when the regiment was deployed to South Africa. In 1918, at the end of the Great War, the regiment was granted the "Royal" title. The regiment received its current name when the 1st, 2nd and 17th batteries were amalgamated in 1920 during a large-scale restructuring of BC's artillery units into the current structure; at that time, the Royal BC Artillery Regiment became a service branch of the BC Army, and the individual field artillery regiments received their current names.

The British Columbia Artillery Regiment was deployed to South Africa for the Second Boer War, and subsequently sent to Europe in 1914 during the First World War.

The regiment was mobilised for the Second World War in 1942 and, after training periods in BC and the United States, went on to serve in the Pacific theatre until the end of the war.

The regiment was once again mobilised in 1951 and served in Korea throughout the Korean War until the armistice of 1953.

Battle Honours

 * South Africa 1900-1902
 * First World War: (multiple)
 * Second World War: (multiple)
 * Korea 1951-1953

Equipment

 * RBL 20-pounder Armstrong field gun (95.3 mm) (1874-1906)
 * BL 15-pounder 7 cwt field gun (76.2 mm) (1892-1918)
 * BL 5-inch howitzer (127 mm) (1895-1920)
 * QF 13-pounder field gun (76.2 mm) (1904-1942)
 * BL 60-pounder field gun (127 mm) (1908-1946)
 * QF 4.5-inch howitzer (114 mm) (1910-1945)
 * BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer (152.4 mm) (1916-1950)
 * QF 18-pounder field gun (83.8 mm) (1920-1945)
 * BL 6-inch 26 cwt howitzer (152.4 mm) (1920-1950)
 * 4.5-inch Gun M1 field gun (114 mm) (1941-1966)
 * M2A1 105 mm howitzer (105 mm) (1941-1978)
 * M1 155 mm howitzer (1942-1981)
 * Sexton 25-pounder self-propelled gun (87.6 mm) (1943-1967)
 * FV433 Abbot self-propelled gun (105 mm) (1967-2013)
 * M198 155 mm howitzer (1981-2013)
 * Nora B-52 self-propelled gun (155 mm) (2013 to date)
 * M777 155mm howitzer (2013 to date)

Regimental Alliances

 * Australia Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
 * Canada Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
 * India Regiment of Artillery
 * New Zealand Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery
 * Rhodesia Royal Regiment of Rhodesian Artillery
 * South Africa South African Artillery Corps
 * United Kingdom Royal Regiment of Artillery